A PENSIONER accused of stabbing his wife to death has died in hospital.

John Smith, 88, was arrested and charged earlier this year after his partner Marian, 74, was found dead with multiple stab wounds at their home in Blackburn.

Mr Smith died in hospital on Tuesday after a short illness.

Yesterday neighbours said they were still recovering from the shock of the suspected murder and said the community was only just starting to heal from the incident.

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Police were called to the couple’s home in Aberdare Close shortly after 9am on Thursday, April 9, with crime scene investigators and forensic experts spending most of the day at the scene.

Mr Smith, who is believed to have originally been from County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and had one child from a previous marriage, was taken into custody before later being transported to Royal Preston Hospital.

At the time the police did not disclose the reason for his hospital admission but have now confirmed that he died of natural causes.

Hamida Sumra, who has lived in Aberdare Close for 15 years, said: “Nobody saw this coming as they kept themselves to themselves and seemed like a nice couple.

“They were never violent or loud in public and would smile at you when you walked past them in the street.

“What happened in April was such a shock and people are still getting over it.

“John had a car accident a number of years ago which seemed to affect his mobility and had to use a wheelchair when he came back from hospital.

“They stayed in the flat most of the time and you never know what goes on behind closed doors.

“Certainly in public they seemed like nice people and nobody expected this to happen at all.”

Another nearby neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: “The whole thing is a tragedy.

“They seemed like lovely people and they really enjoyed our cuisine so we would go and share it with them sometimes.

“We would also go over at Christmas with a card and a gift and they would do the same with our festivals.

“They seemed like a really nice, sweet couple and the incident in April came out of the blue.

“They had no rows that we heard or caused any disturbance at all.”

Fazal Khan, who lives in the close with his family, said: “They lived here for around 20 years and we got on fine with them.

“This area is safe so we were quite shocked when it happened a few months ago.”

Sally Hamilton, who runs Hamilton’s Fruit and Veg in East Park Road, used to deliver her products to the couple’s door.

She said: “The whole thing is very sad. John was just a regular customer.

“He seemed very nice and not somebody who you would would think could be capable of such a thing.”

A police spokesman said: “A Home Office post mortem examination confirmed the cause of Marian Smith’s death as stab wounds.

“Mr Smith passed away at Royal Preston Hospital on Tuesday of natural causes following a short illness.

“A file has been passed to HM Coroner and an inquest will follow.”